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Opinion An Independent Attitude If not so serious, this would be fun Delicious. The presidential race is a delightful morsel for political junkies. The votes, caucuses and media coverage of process instead of issues have got to be fascinating for anyone who loves the spectacle of political fights.
On Feb. 7, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney dropped a bomb by dropping out of the presidential contest on the Republican side of the aisle. Or did he? Please note that some news reports glossed over that he "suspended" his candidacy. Don't be too sure he's gone for good. Romney has shown an ability to change his mind, his rhetoric and his positions to suit his own personal ambitions. When he ran for governor in Massachusetts, his conservative Mormon background disappeared faster than lightning as he embraced pro-choice and same-sex marriage positions. The voters didn't have a prayer to get the real persona of this stealth candidate. He was using the Bay State for bigger ambitions. When he entered the national political scene, it was from stage right. He suddenly found his conservative, family-friendly Mormon values, embracing them like the long-lost Prodigal Son. It seems the American public saw through that charade and rejected his hypocrisy. Or, maybe the Republicans who took the trouble to vote in the primaries were smart enough to figure out what a TIME Magazine poll showed when it was first reported on the evening of Feb. 7 — McCain is a more electable GOP candidate. TIME also reported that, were the election held now, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama would have a better chance than New York Sen. Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party nominee to defeat Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., now the likely Republican nominee. Given Romney's track record of flip-flopping hubris, he may try to either grab delegates at the GOP convention or "negotiate" for the vice president slot or a cabinet position. Were McCain to be the nominee faced with that decision, he might be tempted to choose a running mate from the northeast to balance his southwest roots. McCain, however, has his own troubles. In a rare display of disunity, the conservative, far-right base of the GOP disdains him. Somehow, this war hero fails that group's litmus tests — the feeling it has a right to meddle in people's privacy in their own bedrooms and to protect tax cuts for the rich — to the point that the conservatives in the GOP would eat their young. Better no loaf than half a loaf of the only decent candidate who has a chance against a Democrat. Also on Feb. 7, Rush Limbaugh, professional right-wing-nut propagandist and hate monger, came to the conclusion it would be easier for McCain to beat Clinton. He has started, in jest of course, a plan to contribute to Clinton's campaign so she would be the opponent for McCain to beat. While the GOP looks ready to march with the older generation as a standard-bearer, the Democrats face their own problems. This party has its own history of tearing itself apart, and what could be a more traditional way to do so than this Obama-Clinton battle? Obama, positioning himself as the great new hope, seeks to inherit the mantle of a 1960s Camelot. And his soaring rhetoric and style evoke those memories of us old enough to remember them. Perhaps he would have been better off, however, to eschew the endorsement of Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy. West of the Connecticut River, this man is still the drunkard who drowned a girl by driving off the Chappaquiddick Bridge. Caroline Kennedy's imprimatur, on the other hand, couldn't have hurt. The past eight primaries saw Obama get past Ted Kennedy's endorsement and beat Clinton. Those victories were by substantial margins, invading her core support. New Mexico is where the Democrats have a grave problem. Almost a week after their caucus, they are still digging up dead bodies' votes. But this much can be said: American politics has always been the best spectator sport in the world. Were the stakes not so high for the world and our nation, it would be a lot more fun. George Schwarz: Editor and publisher of the Amarillo Independent. george@amarilloindy.com E-mail
comments about this story Posted: February 14, 2008
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